Cold Heat
by tjkx64
Summary: "Sobs wracked her small, frail body and she cried as she tripped again on a moss-covered ground and she stayed there for minutes, an hour, a day, she didn't notice." Bella/Paul! A working progress, but new chapters tumbling on in! Set after New Moon, rated T for language, swearing and violence. Enjoy


A/N: I've always wondered what Twilight would be like under different situations, so I've decided to make my own version of what happened after New Moon. Why the hell not? So, I made an account _(after like, what? 9 years of reading on this site?)_ and started right away on this bit of work, so I hope you all like it! (:

A/N2: Sooo, I've reread this, and I tweaked it alittle. It was confusing, and I'm sorry for the butchering of your brains trying to figure out what point of view i was writing in. :) But, I suppose that's what I get for writing this at four in the morning.

_Cold Heat_

By: tjkx64

It was a grueling pace; for hours to days or maybe even a few miniscule seconds, she wasn't sure. Time was lost as she trudged through the forest, trees obscuring the view of the sky; pitch black or blindingly bright, she didn't care. Her legs screamed at her in protest, but she kept going and going _and_ _going_. Tears would fall unnoticed, down her pale cheeks, breath coming in loud panting and gasping, her arms flailed in front of her, reaching for something she just_ wished was back at her side._

Sobs wracked her small, frail body and she cried as she tripped again on a moss-covered ground and she stayed there for a minutes, an hour, a day, she didn't notice.

_What am I doing?_ Looking around, she took in the tall trees blocking any view of the world outside of this too big forest. Branches reached for her small, almost frail frame as if in a grabbing motion, and she screamed. Terrified, she ran forward, _why am I here?_

Her face hit branches and leaves and she started, stopping suddenly. A barrage of memories hit her frightened thoughts and she cringed. Memories of beauty, grace and peace settled around her and she calmed.

She smiled, sobbing with relief as she remembered golden eyes and skin sparkling in the sunlight as cold, stone arms wrapped around her middle, pulling her gently against a marble chest. Loving eyes watched as she worked in the kitchen, a slight wonder in them as she gracefully maneuvered the frying pan and stirred a creamy batch of pancakes in a bowl simultaneously. Adoring eyes watching as she tumbled and tripped over air as she walked towards him.

Her smile dropped.

"_I don't want you, Bella."_

The girl shot up, back straight as her eyes opened in horror. _No! That's not…_

"_I had never wanted you."_

She crawled, sobbing as twigs and sharp, unknown objects cut through her clothing and skin, blood slightly staining her palms and knees, but she didn't bother looking. She didn't see the scary forest lurking above her, didn't see the daring branch swooping in and leaving a fine, long gash on her cheek. She only saw the distant gaze as Edw—_he _casually placed his hands in his pockets, speaking as if making small chitchat with a stranger about the weather.

She wilted, halting all movement and crumpled onto the ground. She closed her eyes, trying to will away _all of those damned memories_ and she sobbed hard and clutched her knees to her chest in a fetal position. She cried, tears pouring down her face and irritating the gash on her cheek, and she trembled and shivered in the cold air, but she didn't take notice of any of such _trivial_ things.

And his lips twisted into a smile, bitter as it was, and she thought this was all a cruel joke, all a misunderstanding, but he opened his mouth and awful words tumbled out of his mouth. _"You were a good distraction, Swan. A good, but human, distraction."_

It was too unreal, it was _fake,_ and this was a _dream_. This was a nightmare, because the Edw—the _person_ she knew wouldn't ever dare say any of those words in the same sentence. The person she knew wouldn't say it all _so casually_; hands in his pockets, leaning against a tall, looming tree looking like the _exact_ picture of nonchalance. The person she knew _wouldn't call her Swan._

So she just lay there, waiting for this nightmare to end, trying to ignore the 'memories' of painful words attacking her thoughts. She tried, and tried, but crumbled, _that one_ sentence making her scream, her throat making the scream too guttural and gnarled to make the scream even _remotely_ human.

"_Who would ever want you, Swan?"_

* * *

_Sam's P.O.V._

I growled, _have you found a track of her yet?_

Simultaneous words of disagreement followed the question and I snarled. The pack had been looking for this girl all night, and however how small the pack was, the enhanced hearing and smelling nearly covered all the area of the forest around small Forks.

Everyone in the town was searching for her; word got around fast and everybody knew everybody. People from the res had also joined in their search, everybody sporting a flashlight and hiking boots as we all searched frantically on a fruitless mission. Jared and Paul had joined in immediately when word hit their ears, and Sam had been searching ever since Harry Clearwater had called him; which was _14 hours ago._

Unease and wariness had begun to set it, determination slowly dissipating as worry became more pronounced.

None of the pack was taking this loss lightly, guilt and a feeling of failure at their lack of protection of one, small girl.

It didn't help that that one, small girl was attached to a cult of vampires. He had growled at the sickly, sweet scent when he had first arrived. His stomach had recoiled and his hand flew up to cover his nose, and he nearly threw up before he had reached the forest.

He suspected of course, the pack and the council included. A teenaged girl disappears with a leech's scent on her trail overnight. A teenaged girl who had been dating a vampire and was _'best buddies'_ with the vampires of Forks. So, naturally, they went to investigate. Ignoring the treaty with the right of _Bella freaking Swan._

And, much to the pack's _surprise_, the house the Cullen's resided in was empty, the furniture even making an abrupt disappearance and door slightly ajar. Everything with a meaning had gone, and small things such as a _small pen_ and a _fucking _toothpick were made sure to be packed or _hidden_. No clue as to what had happened, if she was still alive, _nothing_.

Paul growled at this reminder, swiping his paw at an innocent rabbit, while Jared—_bless his soul_—remained levelheaded.

_Look, they couldn't have done anything to her,_ Paul snarled at the words. _You saw the obsession they had with this girl, they couldn't have hurt a single, damned hair on the girl's head. _

I shuddered at the mention of this. But his words rang true, this obsession they had that they had all claimed to be 'love' would have thwarted any ill intention on the girl. But, instead of feeling relieved, I felt absolutely _revolted._

To bring a human into the supernatural world so willingly, to bring enclosure on an innocent bystander just so you can have the feeling of _normalcy_. On a girl hardly into adulthood, no less!

Two loud growls responded to his thinking, and he searched harder; sniffing the air for the sweet scent of strawberry and vanilla from the shirt Billy Black had managed to bring to the pack, extending his vision for any clues that he had missed while he was distracted, straining his ears for any scuffle of shoes against dirt, _anything_.

I took off at breakneck speed, if only to feel some kind of relief as wind blew into my face, running through my fur as I ran forward and darted to the left. Anything to ignore the burning pain in my chest, trying to blink away any te—

_Holy fucking __shit__, Sam! _

I stopped, paws digging into the ground. _Did you find her?_

_Of course I found her, you dickwad! _I ignored his comment and ran where I had sensed him last.

_Where are you?_

* * *

_Paul's P.O.V._

Charlie took a deep intake of breath, as he stood stock-still. I watched as emotions ran through his face, changing and forming and I couldn't tell what the man was feeling. Relief had formed on his face for a nanosecond, before that disappeared and was replaced by _rage_ but then it formed into an angry concern with a small curious glance. He reached out to take the small form from me, but paramedics rushed in and put the girl on a stretcher.

I watched in a daze as they circled around her, checking her vitals and murmuring hushed words to each other before they rushed her into the ambulance.

"Paul?"

A warm hand clamped down on my right shoulder and I looked down.

It was Harry Clearwater. He'd known Bella Swan since she was in diapers, and adored every inch of that girl.

And with a start, I realized, everyone here did. They _all_ had some relation to the girl; even Sam, indifferent and 'uncaring' as he was, had gotten an impression on the girl before… _all of this._ She was kind, and understanding and _too wise _for her age. But she had never acted as someone's superior, treating them with kindness and smiles when sometimes, they didn't deserve it. She was a total klutz, tripping over her own two feet as she stumbled to take my hand when I had first met her.

And, despite the fact that I knew about her relationship with the Cullen, I was utterly charmed by her. I usually meet Billy at Chief Swan's house, and by that one, first impression, I was smitten. So was the rest of the pack, me not even making a snide comment on loving the leech.

And I felt horrible.

If just meeting her a couple of times for what lasted _two minutes_, I begun to wonder what Harry, what _Charlie _would have felt seeing her like that.

He was regarding me with a questioning gaze, but when I refused to elaborate, his eyes suddenly filled with understanding.

"Was it…" he swallowed, and his voice wavered and croaked as he continued, "Was it that bad?"


End file.
